Kayaking past Cap Sant' Andrea

We awoke that first morning in Elba to see the glass block partition between our loft room and the common room of our flat in the villa illuminated from behind by the sun. We shared our flat with Nora and Jim and together we enjoyed espresso and bread and jam. Carolyn had organised a kayak expedition which was to leave at around 10:30 - until then we explored the villa, visited other members of the party down the echoey hallway and talked more about our adventures and misadventures getting to the island. I leaned out the window to try to get a decent panoramic photo of the view through the window of our flat. Across the garden was the swimming pool terrace - rising beyond that, the church of St. Nicholas and the town behind it. Above the town loomed Mount Capanne, at three thousand feet the highest point on the island and the objective of a hike planned for the next day.

After deciding who was to go with whom and in what cars, we set off down the hill toward Marciana Marina. Not even a block from the harbour is the Scuola di Kayak da Mare. Our guides, Gaudenzio and Valentina had already brought the boats on a trailer to the beach - at the little facility just off the waterfront street we were outfitted with life vests and paddles. In addition to typical modern paddles, we had the option of using Gaudenzio's handmade, wooden paddles - these were beautiful with the layers of wood creating dark and light stripes which gently followed the contours of the blades. It took a little while to sort out who got what boats. It's a challenge for me to find a boat with footrest settings that work for my height and in this group, even at 6' 2", I was one of the shortest of the men. The beach was already very crowded with people sitting on blankets, under colorful stripey umbrellas, building sandcastles, playing paddle ball, etc. - one had to be careful moving boats and handling paddles to not run into anyone. Eventually we all cast off and began to paddle across the roped-in bathing area and the little harbour beyond to the opening in the seawall.

The next hour or so was pure pleasure. The waves were large enough to create an enjoyable motion but not so large as to make progress very tiring. In every direction was something beautiful to look at: below, the water was an incredible blue. Where the bottom was visible, one could see tendrils of yellow sunlight playing on the green of the rocks. I kept a lookout for fish but didn't see any. Above, the sky was mostly clear but one could see huge thunderheads massing over the mainland to the north. An old tower rose from the jetty - below it were those crazy concrete doodads that look like jacks. Above the jetty were the buildings of the waterfront, a riot of pastel colours and above them the hills sloped up toward Mount Capanne.

We made our way along the coast, passing Cap Sant' Andrea which was to be our bathing destination later in the week. Mauro pointed out La Piscina, an immense rock pool separated from the sea by a narrow, whale-like ridge of rock. After passing the cape, we turned around and headed back along the coast toward Marciana. Our guides led us into a cove where we beached our boats, went swimming and then enjoyed a lunch of sandwiches and cookies. It was delightful to relax in the water after paddling for however long it took us to get there. I rarely get to swim in the sea and it's always a pleasant surprise how buoyant one is in salt water. The cove ended with a little headland atop which some lovely pine trees were silhouetted against the sky. I remember lying back in the water and looking up at them while being rocked by the waves. Jim Kelly, Nora, Laura St. P., Ben, Carolyn, Graham, Paul and I swam around together for a little while before lunch. Graham and I had fun swimming along the bottom between the rocks.

After lunch, I went a little way up a path that led from the beach up into the hills - from there I had a wonderful view of the cove which made me think of the film version of Agatha Christie's "Evil Under the Sun" and all of the intrigue involving the bottle dropped into the sea, the lone sunbather on the beach and the vertiginous drop from the clifftop path. Again, no need to romanticise - the moment was fantastic enough.

Back into the kayaks and back to Marciana Marina. After playing out the logistical ballet in reverse, we walked along the beach front street looking at the shop windows. Mauro and Laura suggested getting a celebratory, post-paddling glass of prosecco at a local bar. No arm-twisting was required. We sipped our wine standing in the bar and chatting about the just-finished excursion and the plans for the rest of the week. On our way out of the bar we came across Nora and Jim similarly occupied, having a glass of wine at a wharfside cafe.

Supper in Poggio

Back at the villa Paul and I showered and dressed (one feels uniquely fresh and clean after showering off after being in the sea) and took in the view of the sunset from the terrace at the front of the villa. As the sun went down, the shadows rose out of the valley until only the highest, easternmost buildings in Marciana Marina were still lit. We visited for a little while with Emily who had been reading against the railing.

There were rumours of a shop in Poggio where one could get a sandwich in the evening. Paul, Nora, Jim Kelly, Jo and I (I think I have that right - we ate several times at the cafe and I'm starting to get mixed up about what group of people went when) walked up the stairs past the pool, through a gate, along the downhill side of St. Nicholas and up the narrow streets to the square. "Streets" in Poggio refers to what are mostly shallow staircases. Very few of the streets can actually accommodate cars. The town is a little labyrinth of walkways, staircases, nooks, terraces and corridors, some of which end, startlingly, in openings out over steep drops. Framed in the end of some of the alleys are spectacular views of the distant valley walls and the sea. The "Dolce Vita" cafe looked promising, but wasn't serving food that late in the evening. We decided to upgrade our plans and go for a meal at the Trattoria Sciamadda, a restaurant which is just above the square and just below the Mecagni's apartment. The meal was fantastic - I remember one of my dishes - thick squares of pasta in a delicious pesto sauce.

After the meal we saw that the Mecagnis were home and knocked on the door. Mauro gave us a tour of their place which is amazing - it's all landings and stairs and angles. The ceiling of the main room downstairs is an intricate network of wooden beams. Giacomo has the kid's room to end all kid's rooms - it's up at the top of the house and has a porthole window through which he can look out at the square below. A narrow staircase leads to a little terrace at roof level from which we could see down to the lights of the harbour. Amazing.